Friday, September 30, 2011

I always love the relaxed feel of being in jeans. Not that I abhor wearing more formal stuff but I guess it's the fact that I only get to wear them once throughout a five-day workweek that makes me look forward to it. On the flip slide, I believe that if jeans were my regular work wear, then it's the dressing up that I'll be missing in that case. Oh well, it's Friday.

The jeans are from Penshoppe and there's not much really to today's outfit. The t-shirt was just something My Bibe picked up for me in one of her business trips in Iloilo. And then a pair of Chucks. My only accessory was my Jeremy Scott for Swatch wristwatch.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

After enduring a devastating typhoon last Tuesday, it was practically sunny the whole day today. Unfortunately for still a lot of people, though, there are areas north of Metro Manila that are still flooded, some even isolated following the effects of the typhoon. Then there's another one (Quiel) approaching the country. Hopefully this one won't be as bad. Better yet, I hope it just weakens and dissipates so as to spare us, or any other neighboring country for that matter, from further misery.

Meanwhile, we conducted a training today on IT auditing fundamentals. It was just us within our department so it was very relaxed. I also took advantage of the venue for today's post. Although it was still in the same building, at least we were on a higher floor, which allowed us lots of light to work with.

I wore black. Funny, but a lot of us in the office today were clad in black. The shirt's from Tieline. Yes, it may be black but thanks to those details in front it ain't boring at all. At least to me it's not. I paired it with gray pants and these fancy shoes I got from Theodore's (that closed down last year). I don't remember the brand anymore. The printed labels on the insides of the shoes were also no longer visible due to wear and tear. So I have no clue.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Typhoon Nesat (Pedring locally) sure left one helluva mess after ravaging Metro Manila yesterday. Electricity was down, trees were uprooted, many areas were flooded (the U.S. Embassy included), parts of the seawall along Manila Bay were destroyed, billboards collapsed, houses and more structures damaged -- whew!

At least today the weather was better, electricity has been restored, and people are starting to pick up the pieces again although some areas are still submerged in water, My Bibe's dad and a colleague being among the victims. I'm just praying that everything will be alright soon. Very soon.

Moving on, it was back to work today, and I took advantage of the still wet weather by wearing this Topman trench. It was just a gray pullover underneath and a pair of black pants to complete the look. And black shoes from Traffic. But I kept a surprise underneath my pants:

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Electricity has just been restored about two hours ago in our place. My Bibe and I spent the whole day at home today, mostly in bed (it's bed weather as they say). I knew there was a typhoon coming but I never got the impression that it was going to hit Metro Manila as hard as it did earlier.

I woke up this morning to heavy rains and howling winds. Soon enough, the power went off, leaving us with nothing to do but eat, sleep, sit, check how it is outside... My Bibe was able to do some office work, though, until the laptop batteries were drained.

Anyone would enjoy seeing the sunset at Manila Bay, but not this.

Despite not being able to watch the news, we got some updates from people via SMS. My Bibe's dad told her that his place was flooded neck-deep. We also learned that the whole length of Roxas Boulevard in Manila was flooded. Five-star hotel Sofitel along Manila Bay was also partially flooded. Heck, even the U.S. Embassy was flooded! Reportedly, there have already been evacuations there earlier.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila.

Geez, just two years ago typhoon Ketsana (locally named Ondoy) literally flooded the whole Metro. Ondoy just had its anniversary last Monday and here comes Nesat (locally named Pedring). I just hope everybody's okay.

Monday, September 26, 2011

For weeks now I've been having problems sleeping every Sunday night. Yes, only during Sundays. It takes me a while before I doze off and when I do, it's shallow and not restful at all. And last night I suddenly woke up at 4am and I kept turning in bed for a good 30 minutes or so until I got back to sleep. It's definitely not insomnia unless there's a specific type where a person suffers from it only every Sunday. Weird, huh?

In spite of my sleep deprivation, I went to work. Lots of things to do. I wore a Raoul pink and white striped shirt with blue trousers from G2000. Raoul normally has these unusually high collars in their shirts that I find it awkward to wear a tie with them. I guess I need a broader one for this because my slim and skinny ties just don't do the trick. Brown shoes and belt to complete the look.

I previously mentioned that My Bibe and I spent a weekend at the T House in Tagaytay recently. I really didn't have any major complains but I can't hand out high praises either. Here's the full review of this bed and breakfast...

The reception area and front desk.

Welcome and checkin
We were warmly greeted at the reception, which was a good way to start. Another good thing was that it smelled so good in there. I somehow understand what T House was trying to achieve here. The place resembled a mini apartment complex perched on a slope and shaded by trees everywhere. Painted in white and brown, the buildings, with their modern architecture, looked good on the outside.

Friday, September 23, 2011

I'm gearing myself up for a very busy week ahead. So I need to recharge over the weekend. I need my physiological batteries fully charged.

I'm always looking forward to Fridays because I get to wear jeans at work. I opted for a lighter shade today with this Topman number paired with a Penshoppe tee. For footwear, I wore these high-cut shoes from Zara. Although you can't see it that much from the pictures, there's a Celio pink-and-gray fabric belt around my waist. I've been forgetting about my Jeremy Scott for Swatch "wall clock" of a wristwatch lately so I made up for my neglect by wearing it today as well.

Would you go to Starbucks for er... a t-shirt? Well, the coffee giant has just put up such items for sale at a whopping $85 apiece! They've tapped past recipients of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards - Alexander Wang (who's already huge, by the way!), Sophie Theallet, and Billy Reid - to design limited edition tees for them in celebration of the company's 40th anniversary.

Of course, the Starbucks logo is there in every shirt and each designer did their own take. Alexander Wang, for instance, opted for a coffee spill print. And I must admit I actually like it. But then, it's a ridiculous $85. Anyway, check out what these $85 t-shirts look like.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

39 years ago today, the Philippines was placed under martial law by then President Ferdinand Marcos. This lasted until 1981 and is widely considered a dark period in the country's history. Countless Filipinos who opposed the Marcos regime were effectively silenced - either temporarily through incarceration (among them the father of incumbent President Benigno Aquino III) and other means (torture included), or permanently (I need not elaborate). To this day, many are crying for justice over human rights violations during that period. Just this year, thousands of victims were awarded $1,000 each in a class action suit. The payout amounted to $7.5 million.

I myself am guilty of somehow neglecting the value of the freedom of speech that I enjoy today. It is a right, yes, but it's become so easy for people nowadays to voice their opinions, more so in this digital age. But this hasn't always been the case. It is therefore important to look back and be reminded that 39 years ago today, this so-called freedom had been curtailed.

Oh my, enough with the serious stuff. I was just supposed to show what I wore to work today!

Was a bit lazy with the outfit choice, though. I wore a thrifted pullover I realized I hadn't worn yet this year. I had it for some time now. It's actually gray although it looks brownish in the photos courtesy of the brown glass panels filtering the sunlight through the building. I paired it with gray pinstripe pants and black shoes from Aldo.

By the way, I also wore this necklace that I bought last Sunday from an OTOP stall at the Caltex gas station along SLEX. It's where I got my lovely espadrilles.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

It's a rather lazy day for me in terms of picking today's outfit. I just felt like wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Maybe it's got to do with the summery weather I talked about yesterday. But whatever it is, I actually like this shirt (from Zara) because of the seersucker fabric and its understated vibe. Months ago I wore this same shirt with brown pants; this time, though, it's a bluish gray item (from Bench). The choice of footwear followed naturally (also from Zara). And to spice things up a bit, I wore this fabric belt from Celio instead of leather and also put on some beads from Topman (there's blue, too!).

Monday, September 19, 2011

I started the week tired rather than refreshed. I don't know, I had a relaxing weekend with My Bibe in Tagaytay but the mere thought of Monday has somehow erased all of it instantaneously.

Now enough with the rambling and on with today's outfit. It's a floral ensemble today. Very summery, you might say but it is perennially summer here in the Philippines. While autumn has already fallen on many parts of the world, we have it uncomfortably hot back here. And even the few rain showers that visit us don't do much at all to cool us down.

You'll notice me with a bag in this post. I realized I haven't been including bags in my photos. Well, that's mainly because I normally have my pictures indoors instead of on the streets (I don't have that much time). Today I thought, what the heck, I'm gonna carry my bag with me!

The bag's Topman, a gift from the love of my life, My Bibe. I really like it and I actually have been using it since Friday. I had to edit the stuff that I carry with me, though, because there's not much space. I don't want it to be bulging from all that crap I put inside.

My Bibe and I hied off to Tagaytay last Saturday. Since we really didn't get to celebrate my birthday, we thought we'd spend the weekend there. We stayed at T House Tagaytay, where it was our first time (I'll post a review soon). But before checking in, we did the usual thing first: have a late lunch with bulalo (a beef, bone marrow and vegetable soup) somewhere. This time it was at Antonio's Grill.

The rest of the day we spent just inside our room, leaving it momentarily only for a massage and then dinner. Although it rained a couple of times that day, the Tagaytay upland breeze still wasn't that cool. So I was perfectly okay in my outfit that day.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

While on a stopover at a gas station along SLEX earlier, I saw a kitten feeding on something. I wanted to come close but was afraid I would scare the poor thing since most of these stray cats are averse to humans. Then I suddenly remembered this story I read last week about a cat in Colorado, USA that went missing for five years and was only found last week in New York City. What's even more amazing is the fact that these two places are bout 1,800 miles apart.

The cat's name is Willow and she escaped some five years ago when contractors doing a home renovation left one of the doors open. Despite her owners's efforts, she was never found. And then they got a call that their cat was found, thanks to a microchip implanted in Willow. But how this feline got to the Big Apple remains a mystery.

Nevertheless, what's important is that the cat will soon be reunited with her family (or has she been already?). Truly, nothing is impossible. At least sometimes.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

This post is late. But common, it was my birthday! As of writing this, I'm in Tagaytay for a short weekend getaway with My Bibe. Anyway, this was what I wore that day:

Surprise, surprise! My outfit hinted nothing of a special day. I had at least one colleague ask me if my shirt was new, though. But no, it's actually thrifted. People don't believe I do wear thrifted items because they say they don't expect it from me. I admit I don't go to thrift shops a lot but I have a couple of items in my wardrobe that are from such stores. I think it's a matter of how you carry yourself regardless of how much your outfit actually cost.

Friday, September 16, 2011

It's my birthday and I'm really wishing for a lot of things (see here). If only my wish to be extremely rich comes true, then all these stuff I'm seeing from New York Fashion Week would all be mine. Here's the second part of my wish list of items from the runways of New York.

From Duckie Brown:
It's the floral prints that I love here. I could really see myself wearing these.

From Antonio Azzuolo:
The blazers are to-die-for. Definitely office-worthy to me.

I mentioned in a previous post that I noticed a lot of nice shorts from Spring/Summer 2012 collections featured during New York Fashion Week. But shorts weren't the only items I'm drooling over. I'm loving a lot of pants, bags, jackets and other tops. Since it's my birthday, I'm including these (and those shorts) in my wishes when I blow the candles on my cake (Do I have a cake?).

Because I'm wishing for a lot, this post will only feature pants and bags.

From Roberto Cavalli:

I love both color and pattern. And the blazer's equally hot!

Mustard is a prominent color in various collections showcased at NYFW. I probably won't be wearing the pants and jacket together but I could at least have the pants.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I'm not much of a fashion watcher but I recently thought of checking what's up at New York Fashion Week. Looking at photos over at gq.com, I noticed a lot of shorts from different Spring/Summer 2012 collections. Here are but a few of what I love:

From Parke & Ronen:

I love the details on the sides. The tank's also nice.

I really love short shorts, and this one is no exception. The blazer's nice, too.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Happy birthday to my sister! Just two more days and it's my turn to age another year.

Today My Bibe remarked she hasn't seen this vest I'm wearing for the longest time. Me neither. I got it from Onesimus at SM Department Store. It has one button underneath and a zipper on the side. Save for the herringbone pattern in front, it's all linen, a fabric I don't like that much because of the difficulty in ironing it entails. But because there's not much fabric to this vest, I let it slide.

Apart from the vest, my outfit today was comprised of a white shirt from Celio (with sleeves rolled up for a laid-back vibe), metallic trousers from Merger, and brown shoes from Traffic. The reason for all the brown was my sheer laziness in changing bags. In lieu of a watch, I wore a bracelet I got from a flea market. No hidden surprises with my socks today; they're all brown.

I still haven't really sunk my teeth into my copy of GQ's September 2011 issue, and here I learned that the October issue's coming out already. Leonardo DiCaprio graces the cover once more, and My Bibe and I both agree that he looks much better with age.

In the issue, Leo talks about working with Clint Eastwood on J. Edgar, on which movie he's most proud of (and it's not Titanic), of whether he has any interest in directing, and more. J. Edgar, which opens in November in the U.S., is the story of legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who was both much reviled and revered at the same time. He was also rumored to be hiding in the closet.

Needless to say, the movie is geared for the Oscars, and that golden statuette has been eluding Leo for so long already. Is he desperate to win? I don't know but he's been tackling really serious roles in really serious films that don't make that much money but win awards. For the longest time I've been wanting him to do more commercial films in between, and I was glad he did Shutter Island and Inception. Well, they were still serious.

Anyway, I'll have to check next week if there will be copies already on sale.

It was another sunny day today. For the second straight day, we shot with nothing but sunlight gleaming through the glass panels at the office. And my, oh my, have I been loving it!

It's a purple and blue ensemble today. The shirt's Paul Smith while the pants are from Sahara at SM Department Store. Predictable, but I wore brown shoes from Aldo. However, instead of the usual leather belt to go with an outfit like this, I picked a rather informal one from Celio, just to make things a little different.

A colleague noticed the stitching details on my shirt; "running stitch," she exclaimed. And so started a conversation that involved backstitches, chain stitches, and the like. Anyhow, though I'm not really fond of the shirt's fit (a tad too loose that I have to keep tucking it repeatedly), I love the french cuffs. So I got to wear these again:

The Miss Universe crown has eluded the Philippines yet again. I didn't watch the pageant's telecast but a quick Googling told me that a lot of Filipinos were still proud of Ms Philippines Shamcey Supsup. On the other hand, there was a lot of hullabaloo surrounding her fourth place finish, that she should have either won the title or land 1st runner-up (especially since she was a favorite to win). They were all behind Ms Supsup in her answer to judge Vivica Fox's question in the final Q&A portion.

Asked if she would change her religious beliefs to marry the person she loves, Ms Philippines said she would not because God is the first person she loves, that she has her faith, her principles and everything. She added that if the guy loves her, he should love her God too.

Coming from a predominantly Christian nation, Catholic mostly, I could understand Filipinos' admiration for her standing by her faith. Attagirl, Shamcey!

Taking a step back, however, I also understand why her answer may not have sat well enough with the judges. Religion can be a very divisive thing, having been the root cause of countless wars already. And that remains very true to this day. Being Miss Universe entails a whole new level of open-mindedness because that person no longer represents her country alone. She represents the world.

Monday, September 12, 2011

The countdown to my birthday is really heating up. By the end of this workweek, I'll be another year older (yikes!).

I'm not greeting the week in celebratory fashion, though. Fact is, I was a bit lazy to greet the new week, hence, the rather uninspired outfit today: black and gray (haha!). Anyway, I survived the day.

The black pullover is from Paul Smith, the charcoal gray pants from Topman, and the jacket (part of a set) is from Springfield. I've had the jacket for maybe three years now. Sadly, the pants that came with it no longer fit. Yeah, I've grown that much since. The shoes are from Aldo, by the way. And I'm wearing my horcrux of a ring.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Our boss treated the whole team to a buffet dinner at Dad's in Glorietta 4 earlier this evening. I believe I've had more than my fair share of tuna sashimi and California maki that I had to have coffee the minute I arrived home. It was fun, I must say. And I hope that all the crazy things we shared in the spirit of fun will indeed bear fruit.

Moving on to today's outfit, I pulled out this old shirt from my closet. It's from Artwork and I had it for many years now. It's got some Chinese characters on it that supposedly mean "lion." I know I'm no Gryffindor but I couldn't find one with a snake then. Anyway, I believe I was drawn primarily to the shirt's color, then the fit. Err, about the fit, that applied way back then because nowadays I'm forced to suck it all in, which is quite difficult after having a buffet dinner.

The shirt also has a huge print at the back, which I like a lot. I paired the shirt with Penshoppe jeans, Topman boat shoes, and a red belt from Polo Ralph Lauren. The watch is just more like a toy watch, nothing special.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ties -- be they bow or neckties -- are accent pieces in a guy's wardrobe. So they normally stand in contrast to a shirt, more commonly in terms of color, but just about right to complement the outfit as a whole. And so go the rules that the tie should either match your shirt or your suit, blah, blah, blah... But a red tie always looks good in a blue ensemble. Care to explain that one?

Anyway, today I'm wearing a bow tie that's got exactly the same pattern as my shirt down to the color and texture. How could it not be when they're cut from the same cloth? The bow tie actually came with the shirt. Although I didn't quite get it at first, as to why they included a bow tie that's exactly the same as the shirt's, I soon thought, why not?

The shirt and bow tie package is from Rajo Laurel for Wharton (at SM Department Stores). To go with the purple top, I chose blue pants today from Sahara at SM. For leather, I opted for brown, the shoes from Aldo and the belt from SM. I accessorized with a ring that was originally My Bibe's and a gold-plated and silver bracelet from a flea market.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Do I look too happy today? No particular reason, though. We were laughing at one point during this shoot and I just thought of "extending" that laugh and see how it looks in the photos. Not bad, I thought.

After running around with blades yesterday, I picked up a bow tie for today's outfit. It's maroon with some white dots on it, not my top-of-mind choice for a brown shirt with rust-colored miniature checks, though. But I thought it worked. With it I wore metallic trousers and a pair of brown lace-ups.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I got to wear my Bosquejo razor blade necklace again today. This time around, I wore it over a white shirt that's buttoned all the way up to the collar. Because the necklace is already too much, I kept everything else simple with gray pants and black shoes. I did put on some more accessories, though: a watch, a bracelet, and a ring.

Monday, September 5, 2011

I still can't get over my being sorted to Slytherin over at pottermore.com just this morning (see post here). I was -- and still am -- so happy upon seeing the result of the sorting process although I know that I am a Slytherin by heart. If my being born in the year of the Snake isn't any indication, then I don't know what is.

It was unusually warm today, especially after experiencing weeks of rain. I thought I chose the wrong outfit because I really felt uncomfortable for most of the day (and night).

Anyway, I wore a blue shirt from Celio paired with black pants from Zara and shoes from Aldo. The tie and belt I got from SM Department Store. The watch is Aldo as well. The outfit is a rather safe choice and pairing for me, but a classic one I daresay.

After hitting a snag last night (see related post here), I finally was able to move forward this morning. I've managed to open an account in Gringotts, strike off everything in my shopping list, get myself a twelve-and-a-half-inch wand fashioned out of sycamore with dragon core, board the Hogwarts Express, collect a couple of Chocolate Frog Cards, and finally, get sorted.

I was extremely anxious about it, the whole sorting process, much like every other incoming freshman at Hogwarts. As I answered each of the seven questions thrown at me, I took screenshots to "document" my journey (though I'm not sharing them with you so as not to spoil everybody else's would-be experience with the sorting process). And then the screen was filled with green...

I instantly went crazy. It was such a relief to belong with wizards and witches who were destined for greatness, much like Merlin and uhm, Lord Voldemort. And reading through the welcome message was a blast.

As of writing this post, Slytherin had the fewest share of the sorting process with 35,873 students. All the rest had more than 36,000 led by Ravenclaw (36,280), followed by (surprise!) Hufflepuff (36,061), and Gryffindor (36,028). Nevertheless, my house is leading the House Cup with 20,468 points, followed closely by Ravenclaw with 20,403 points, then Gryffindor with 19,317 points, and Hufflepuff with 18,727 points. I'm gonna have to work hard to earn Slytherin more points and further cement our lead.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Yes, I finally received my much-awaited Pottermore email in the wee hours of Sunday. I was about to go to bed then but I resisted the urge to log in, else I wouldn't stop browsing. So I succeeded and only checked the site late this afternoon after finishing all the chores that I'm supposed to do.

Pottermore lets you go through Harry Potter's seven-year journey once more but with dozes of new information this time around. So far into my foray, I especially loved the backstory about the Dursleys, Petunia and her sister Lily (Harry's mom). There are comments sections available, and much like Facebook, you can add friends. A couple of members, me included, have voiced suggestions for background music and sound effects. But I don't really know how that will pan out considering the site is already heavy on graphics and animation.

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About Me

I am half-white. Half-Caucasian, if you may.
My dad's Danish and my mom's Filipino. I was born, raised, and am still living in the Philippines. And ironically - even pathetically - I've never been to Denmark.
(Disclosure: I do accept sponsored posts occasionally.)
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